Sociological positions are used to understand and depict the manner societies map and the different behavior of persons within these societies. These positions can be used to explicate the administration of different countries of society. including societal stratification. societal mobility. societal diverseness. socialization. and societal establishments every bit good as the manner each component fits into society. In this assignment I will be concentrating on explicating each of the chief sociological positions in society. The positions that I will be concentrating on in this assignment are: Functionalism. Marxism. Marxism. Feminism. the New Right. Collectivism. and Postmodernism.
Functionalism:
Functionalism is the sociological position that focuses on the establishments. e. g. the legal justness system and the health care system. as working in harmoniousness with one another. doing specific and clear parts to the smooth running of society. Functionalism uses methods of societal control to cover with aberrant members and groups in society. doing certain they don’t interrupt the smooth running of society. An illustration of societal control is the prison system which aims to except perverts in order to rehabilitate them. Talcott Parson. who played a big function in developing functionalism. saw society as a system made up of interrelating societal establishments which all work towards its smooth running and continuance. He believed that the chief function of each establishment was to socialize persons and guarantee they were cognizant of and understood the values of their society and how to act in a manner that conformed to societal norms and values.
This ensured that there was order in society and that each individual had a function to play. Functionalism besides focuses on the maps of the household and how holding a stable and functional household contributes to the order and stableness to society. Examples of the maps of the household include: 1 ) socialization. which includes the duty of learning kids the acceptable ways to act in society. significance they are less likely to take portion in aberrant behavior and 2 ) economic map including nutrient. shelter and. fiscal security being provided for each household member.
There are besides many unfavorable judgments of functionalism including the fact that functionalism is based on the thought that in all societies societal establishments. groups and. persons all portion the basic values and beliefs and that this value consensus underpins the socialization procedure and the working of the chief establishments. Unfortunately it is clear that everyone has different beliefs and common values are clearly shared in society. Another unfavorable judgment of functionalism is that is does non turn to any countries of struggle. Functionalism emphasises the consensus and understanding of all members of society and the establishments ever holding a positive impact on socialization. However. this does non stand for most people’s experience of modern society. where there are victors and also-rans every bit good as many people who refuse to conform to the norms of society.
Interactionism
Unlike the other sociological positions. interactionism is based on micro groups in society ( i. e. school schoolrooms ) and how they influence each person’s behavior and their part to society. Interactionists disagree that the big establishments and how they interact with each other forms society. Interactionism suggests that we have the power to take how we live our lives and make our ain societal functions alternatively of being influenced by the socialization procedure. Interactionists believe that our behavior is driven by the manner we interpret state of affairss within little groups. how we see ourselves in relation to other people in the group. how we see other members of the group and. how other members of the group see us. Criticisms of interactionism include: although interactionism focal points on how much power different people have within in little groups it doesn’t wage attending to issues of power in wider society and where different societal functions and places come from.
Interactionism focuses closely on different societal interactions within groups of people and does non discourse the consequence of different societal establishments on society nor see societal factors that may hold influence the growing and development of different societal constructions. Equally good as this. interactionism does non explicate why people mostly behave in predictable ways. If little groups all interact otherwise. and big societal establishments are non valid so it would be expected that people would move in different ways depending on the group they belong to. and because of the big sums of different groups in society. you would anticipate that people’s behavior would frequently non be predictable.
Bolshevism:
Bolshevism is a sociological attack supplying free wellness and societal attention services and support for vulnerable members of society. provided by the authorities and paid for through the revenue enhancements and national insurance of all working members of society. it means that everyone jointly works together to better the criterion of life for everyone. These vulnerable people may include: kids. the aged. people with physical disablements and. those with mental wellness demands. It besides provides wholly people in the UK with privileges such as free NHS attention and free instruction. so that all people have the same opportunities to win in life. despite their background. Bolshevism came approximately after the Second World War. The Beveridge Report 1942. which focussed on societal insurance and allied wellness services. identified five elephantine immoralities that desperately needed to be dealt with. These were: sordidness. poorness. disease. idling. and ignorance.
From this there came a cross-party understanding that the province as a corporate should take duty for: Addressing poorness through public assistance benefits including: household allowance. unemployment and sickness benefit. and retirement pensions. Contending disease by supplying free National Health Service attention. which is accessible to everyone. Battling ignorance through the enlargement and betterment of secondary instruction. doing it accessible to everyone. Geting rid of sordidness by bettering and supplying more people with council lodging. Covering with idling by provide more and better quality employment chances and by developing labour exchanges.
This system allowed the province to work together with households and voluntary administrations. to do life easier and more low-cost for the people who lived in the UK. There are many unfavorable judgments of Collectivism. for illustration: the turning population means that working people are holding to pay more and more in revenue enhancements. Equally good as this the changeless displacement between labour and conservative authoritiess means the public assistance system is non peculiarly stable. with both authoritiess seeking to reform and ‘fix’ the errors of the other when they are in power. Another unfavorable judgment of Bolshevism is that many people abuse the system by taking more than their portion. intending people who need it are left with less than what they need. if anything.
The New Right:
The ‘New Right’ is the sociological position that focuses on disputing Bolshevism by keeping the belief that the authorities should pay merely a little function in supplying public assistance and giving persons the chance to take duty for themselves. The New Right was made in resistance to Collectivism. The ‘New Right’ was developed in the 1980’s when the Conservative Party were in power and Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister. At that clip the Conservative Government believed the public assistance province produced a society who. instead than be aftering for the hereafter and taking single duty for themselves and their households relied on the public assistance system ( funded by the revenue enhancements of those who were working ) to fund and back up their well-being. To cover with this issue the conservative authorities: Moved people who were claiming benefits and could non afford their rent from expensive lodging in large metropoliss ( i. e. London ) into more low-cost lodging in more rural countries ( i. e. Luton and Birmingham ) .
This manner. people could afford their rent without holding to inquire for more authorities pay-outs and the authorities could lease out more expensive belongingss to those people who could afford it and would pay into the authorities through rent and revenue enhancements. Encouraged private endeavor. edifice on concern competition and hence seting more money into the economic system. Capped people’s benefits so that no household could claim no more than the mean on the job pay of ?26. 000 a twelvemonth. As good as this benefits are capped at different sums depending on a person’s life style. For illustration: ?500 a hebdomad for individual parents whose kids live with them compared to ?350 a hebdomad for individual grownups who don’t have kids. or whose kids don’t unrecorded with them.
There are many unfavorable judgments of The New Right including the fact that it can go forth people who are vulnerable at hazard of losing their benefits. or of their benefits being capped. Equally good as this. the moving of people from expensive lodging in London and other major metropoliss to countries of cheaper lodging in topographic points such as Luton splits up households. disrupts children’s instruction. and causes people to hold to go forth their occupations and seek to happen work locally. Another unfavorable judgment of The New Right is the changeless displacement between labour and conservative authoritiess. which means the public assistance system is non peculiarly stable. with both authoritiess seeking to reform and ‘fix’ the errors of the other when they have the power.
Feminism
Feminism is an alternate struggle theory between genders. Feminists argue that society today is one of patriarchate. and that misss are programmed from a immature age to be baby doing machines who stay at place to cook. clean and. expression after the kids and her hubby. Feminists believe this is incorrect and that work forces and adult females should hold equal rights and duties in society. every bit good as equal chances to win. They want to be able to travel out to work and populate independently without being discriminated against because of their sex. There are three chief types of feminism: Extremist feminism see’s adult females as being oppressed by work forces entirely. They believe that adult females are socialised into functions such as homemakers and female parents alternatively of holding a life outside the house.
They see being a female parent as a signifier of subjugation because it stops them from holding a calling. societal life and pay. Marxist feminism see’s adult females. particularly those of the on the job category. as being oppressed non merely by work forces. but besides by capitalist economy. It is believed that a adult females produce societies next coevals of workers and that by run intoing the demands of their kids. their kids will be ready to work in the hereafter. They are expected to back up their spouses. cook. clean. and attention for their kids without acquiring any payment. It is believed that this shows adult females are dominated by their hubbies. Broad feminism argues that any alterations that need to take topographic point sing the rights of adult females in society can go on through Torahs and authorities alterations. Many broad women’s rightists would besides reason that a batch of alteration as already taken topographic point to do certain adult females are equal to work forces. through the aid of legalization such as the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Equality Act of 2010. and that betterments will go on to take topographic point.
Marxism
Marxism is a sociological position developed by Karl Marx. He believed the behavior of persons was non merely shaped by society but besides by the economic system and where each individual was placed within that system. His position was that there were two groups of people in society. the middle class ( upper category ) and the labor ( lower category ) . The middle class were the little group of people who owned concerns and controlled the manner society was run. They are besides known as capitalists. The labor were the bulk of society who worked for and were kept in poorness by the middle class. Karl Marx believed that the two societal category had and would ever be in struggle because of their different positions about the economic system. The middle classs would ever be looking for ways to derive a higher net income to let themselves to acquire richer and richer and the labor would ever desire higher rewards so they could feed their households and expression after themselves.
The middle classs would non desire to pay for the labors to hold a higher pay. because this would eat off at the net income they are doing for themselves. For this ground. Marxism is a struggle theoretical account. Harmonizing to Marxism establishments were organised to profit the opinion category. He believed that the bourgeoisie’s controlled the media. legal system and. the authorities. The middle class have control of the school course of study. doing certain the lower category merely learn what they want them to. Marxists believe that through secondary socialization the values and thoughts of the opinion category are passed on to the lower categories. The middle class besides have the ability to do certain merely the upper category can acquire the best instruction. For illustration: It costs about ?30. 000 to travel to university which most labors can non afford.
This manner merely people who are bourgeoisie can afford to travel to university. hence guaranting merely they will acquire the best and most specialized occupations. Leaving those who are labors in the same place as earlier. Marxism besides says that the household is an of import portion of socialization which contributes to socialisation working in favor of the rich. The household is regarded as being a slave to the capitalist society. The labors are prepared by their household for work. and taught the importance of working difficult to gain a life. The household provides security and a topographic point for workers to wind off and loosen up before holding to travel back to work.
This manner concerns can acquire off with working their employees truly hard because they have had a interruption from work. The unfavorable judgment of Marxism include: 1 ) there is no reference of a in-between category. proposing that person is either lower category or upper category and that there is no mediate. 2 ) Marxism merely focuses on the economic establishment and non on any of other establishments i. e. faith and wellness and societal attention systems. And 3 ) many people believe that the Marxist position is out dated and no longer valid because the criterion of life in industrialized societies has massively improved over the last 100 old ages. Equally good as that. chances of patterned advance in the workplace are available so anyone can work their manner up in the occupations ladder in their profession.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is the sociological position which focuses on the alteration and uncertainness of society. Postmodernism suggests that there is no point concentrating on societal establishments ( i. e. household or the economic system ) because nil stays the same. For illustration: There are so many different beliefs and values within each faith that it is no longer possible to jointly province the beliefs and values of a individual faith. Postmodernists believe that the societal establishments have broken up and go less of an influence on persons. Different persons and groups of people make their ain life style determinations instead than being influenced by societal functions and constructions. Peoples now have the ability to take from the many different activities and material ownerships that make each person’s life really single. halting people from being categorised by the societal category and groups they are a portion of.
Postmodernists believe that because of the go oning alteration of society structuralist perspectives no longer assist us to understand society. For illustration: feminism is no longer valid because adult females are invariably deriving more position and value in society and many adult females now have callings. In decision. the different sociological positions were created to assist us to depict and understand the manner that societies map and the behavior of persons within these societies. Although the different sociological positions conflict with one another. each one gives us some apprehension of society.
The sociological position I most agree with is Marxism. because I believe that people born into low societal categories are non given the same chances to develop and be successful as those who were born into the upper category. hence maintaining them in a rhythm of poorness gaining low rewards and merely holding adequate money to last. For illustration: Universities offer beforehand instruction. giving pupils the chance to specialize in a specific occupation function. But because of how much it costs to travel to university it is unrealistic to believe that many people from the lower category would travel at that place. intending they will non specialize. giving them about no opportunity to acquire high paid occupations.
Mentions:
• Health and Social Care Level 3: Book 1 BTEC National. Series Editors Beryl Stretch and Mary Whitehouse.
